Two second-half goals by midfielder John Thorrington gave the Chicago Fire a 2-1 victory against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night at Toyota Park.
Thorrington scored in the 53rd and 84th minutes, giving the Fire their third victory in the last four games. The Rapids got a late goal from Tom McManus and pushed hard for the equalizer, but weren't able to keep from losing for the third time in their last four games.
Fire coach Denis Hamlett kept his lineup the same as in last week's 1-0 loss to Kansas City, which included Thorrington on the right of midfield, who made his decision look like genius after a quiet first half.
For the first time this season, Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo changed his starting lineup, inserting defender Kelly Gray, midfielder Colin Clark and forward McManus into the starting 11. Out of the lineup were Omar Cummings, Kosuke Kimura and John DiRaimondo, who suffered an ankle injury in the last game against the Revolution.
McManus was the most dangerous player on the field in the first half, and was credited with four shots and two shots on goal, including a snap header in the 27th minute that went right at Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch.
Chicago had three shots in the first half, two on goal. Colorado had six shots, again with two on goal. Both Chicago's Busch and Colorado's Coundoul had two saves apiece. Blanco had the best attempt in the first half for the Fire, sending a freekick high in the 13th minute.
Thorrington finally got the Fire on the board in the 53rd minute. Cuauhtemoc Blanco crossed the ball to Tomasz Frankowski on the left side of the box. Frankowski then crossed the ball into the box and it deflected off a defender and back into play. Thorrington ran up the middle and fired the ball into the net to put the Fire into the lead.
The Fire continued their offensive surge with Frankowski, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Chad Barrett taking shots in the next 15 minutes, all to no avail.
In the 84th minute, Justin Mapp made a surging run up the left side of the field. He crossed the ball to Thorrington, who sent a rising shot into the net to double the Chicago lead.
Two minutes later, McManus tallied his first MLS goal. Christian Gomez sent a corner kick into the box. It slipped through a tangle of legs where McManus snuck into the box and easily poked it past Busch to cut the lead to 2-1.
Both teams went close in added time. Second-half substitution Calen Carr found an open net in extra time with only Coundoul to beat, but sent the ball just wide right.
Coundoul then nearly became the hero for the Rapids -- at the other end of the park. On a freekick, he raced out of his goal to the Fire end of the field. McManus sent the ball into the area and Coundoul got a head to it, but put it over the bar.
Busch ended the game with four saves. Coundoul had six total saves. The Fire improved to 3-1-1 on the season and travel to New England next week, facing a Revolution team they earlier defeated 4-0 this season. Colorado fell to 2-3-0 and returns home to take on D.C. United.
Kathryn L. Knapp is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
